As a pet trainer I don't waste my time with Shar-peis. And the very one reason I've never became a groomer is because I dislike most of the yappy fluffy breeds that require grooming often.

I've refused owners (not based on breed, LOL). When I'm doing the evaluation I'm very clear that if after 4 classes I see no improvement between classes and proof they have been working on their own, I'll stop working with them.

As a pet trainer I don't waste my time with Shar-peis. And the very one reason I've never became a groomer is because I dislike most of the yappy fluffy breeds that require grooming often.

I've refused owners (not based on breed, LOL). When I'm doing the evaluation I'm very clear that if after 4 classes I see no improvement between classes and proof they have been working on their own, I'll stop working with them.

If I may hijack this thread for a minute, maybe some of the groomers here can give me some advice on the best cut for my dog Coke? He is possible a Chow or Shar Pei mix (the entire inside of his mouth and tongue is purple) but he seems to do great a the groomers, at least they all dote on him and send us promo cards inviting him back. He's NOT aggressive at all, has never needed a muzzle (he can be a softy but will just go into avoidance rather than fight). Last time he went I was worried what they would think of me because he was in bad shape. He had at least three hotspots. We had yet another hot (90-100), very humid summer and when we are on vacation there is no AC anywhere (not that we use it at home either). I only let him swim *once* the whole two weeks and he still had hotspots and itchies all over. I said enough and told DH to bring him to the groomer's and get a "lion" shave. I figured I would pay about the same going to a vet and just getting the spots cleaned as I would going to a pro groomer and getting the whole area shaved. They did exactly as I asked despite it being kind of a drastic cut and Coke not being any identifiable breed with a "standard" cut, but Coke seemed very happy to have some air on his skin, though he looked ridiculous. It kind of grew on me and I'll probably go with this cut from now on May-Sept. Once his coat was gone his hotspots dried up overnight and he didn't get anymore since then. He has a coat like putting a Malamute or Chow underneath a long coat GSD. His undercoat is so thick it stands up straight off his body. He's only 65lbs but looks like a bear (he's bigger than my GSDs) - all coat! I'm hoping to get the tools I need to groom him myself for Christmas. I normally do his ears, feathering, and pants/sani-trim myself with the scissors I use on my own hair and thinning shears, but I've asked for a good clippers so I can do the shave. This fall I won a dog dryer in a raffle so now I can blow him out more regularly and hopefully keep the moisture off his skin.

This thread makes me kinda sad. I know I am the kind of person who is scatter brained and would very likely forget to get her dog groomed on a regular basis (not like what's pictured. I would NEVER let a dog have those kind of problems because that has to be painful. More like I would have a very shaggy looking dog. Think instead of getting groomed when they're supposed to, possibly going over by a week or so.) so I didn't go for a breed that I would have to get clipped on a regular basis. At one point I almost took in a toy/miniature poodle, but that was only because she was my grandma's dog and I knew my grandma wouldn't want her to go to the pound. Luckily a family member took her, so I didn't have to, but I would have taken her to get groomed because that's just what you do when you have a dog like that. Why in the world would you get a dog and then just neglect it like that??? Some of you groomers are saying that you only see these dogs every 4-6 months...aren't you supposed to get dogs like those groomed every 6 weeks or so? Ridiculous.

If I may hijack this thread for a minute, maybe some of the groomers here can give me some advice on the best cut for my dog Coke? He is possible a Chow or Shar Pei mix (the entire inside of his mouth and tongue is purple) but he seems to do great a the groomers, at least they all dote on him and send us promo cards inviting him back. He's NOT aggressive at all, has never needed a muzzle (he can be a softy but will just go into avoidance rather than fight). Last time he went I was worried what they would think of me because he was in bad shape. He had at least three hotspots. We had yet another hot (90-100), very humid summer and when we are on vacation there is no AC anywhere (not that we use it at home either). I only let him swim *once* the whole two weeks and he still had hotspots and itchies all over. I said enough and told DH to bring him to the groomer's and get a "lion" shave. I figured I would pay about the same going to a vet and just getting the spots cleaned as I would going to a pro groomer and getting the whole area shaved. They did exactly as I asked despite it being kind of a drastic cut and Coke not being any identifiable breed with a "standard" cut, but Coke seemed very happy

I'm hoping to get the tools I need to groom him myself for Christmas. I normally do his ears, feathering, and pants/sani-trim myself with the scissors I use on my own hair and thinning shears, but I've asked for a good clippers so I can do the shave.

For a slightly longer, more plush clip you could try the next longest blade, a #5F which leaves the hair a 1/4 of an inch long or a #4F which leaves it 3/8 of an inch long. These may be a little harder to get through his coat if it is really thick but you could use them if you really want to. I think the #7F will give you a smoother look though.

You will need straight shears (sounds like you already have these) to scissor the long hair on the backs of his front legs and tip his tail up so it looks neat and nice.

If you want to take a little more coat off, you can also move the clip up a little higher and follow the natural ruff he has...you can see it in the pics, it would come down to right where his brown starts in front of his front legs. It will not be a "true" lion clip but I have clients that prefer that, especially since some dogs will get hot spots in the arm pit area.

Forgot to add, with a really thick coat, sometimes I like to clip in "reverse". With dogs you normally shave in the direction the hair grows but you can get a really nice clip on some dogs by shaving against the grain...it will leave them shorter than the regular length of the blade so go up to a #5F if you do this. It looks especially nice on dogs/cats that are getting a "mane" of any kind left as you can shave backwards up to where the natural ruff ends and when the hair falls back into place you don't see the exact line you stopped shaving at.

I am glad I am not the only one who has trouble with the ------doodles. In my training experiences I have not met a normal behaving ----doodle.
Poodles are OK, but when you hybridize them with other breeds you get something crazy.
Don't have a clue. I am waiting to meet a good exception. Anyone can counter this?

He has a coat like putting a Malamute or Chow underneath a long coat GSD.

If this is the case, I would NOT try to clip him at home. That type of hair is insanely difficult and tedious to work with even for a professional groomer with all of our tools and equipment; I can't imagine trying to deal with it at home. If you can just keep him brushed out really well, to the best of your ability, and have the groomer handle his clip, I think that would be the best solution--the time and effort that would be required for you to clip him at home would be prohibitive, and he still wouldn't look as good as does from the groomers', unless you have a bathing system, a powerful force dryer, and a professional set of tools, clippers and blades.

I think the haircut he has looks good on him! When I do a "lion" type clip on dogs, I usually just leave a ruff around the neck, down to the shoulders, rather than leaving the hair all the way back over the ribs. That's simply a personal thing. We have hot summers here too, so I clip a lot of Coke-type dogs short like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfy dog

Poodles are OK, but when you hybridize them with other breeds you get something crazy.
Don't have a clue. I am waiting to meet a good exception. Anyone can counter this?

There is some weird, evil genetic synergy that happens when you cross Poodles with other breeds. I don't know why, but it seems to bring out the worst of both breeds, no matter what it is.

I have a few nice 'doodles, but most of them are just plain crazy. Happy and friendly and goofy and waaaaay too much energy, and the owners aren't usually the type to do much training with their dogs, so they are often spoiled brats as well. There are exceptions; I can think of one Labradoodle, a 5 or 6 year old female, who is calm, cooperative and obedient. This family owns two other 'doodles, and those two are nutty as fruitcakes.

There is some weird, evil genetic synergy that happens when you cross Poodles with other breeds. I don't know why, but it seems to bring out the worst of both breeds, no matter what it is.

I have a few nice 'doodles, but most of them are just plain crazy. Happy and friendly and goofy and waaaaay too much energy, and the owners aren't usually the type to do much training with their dogs, so they are often spoiled brats as well. There are exceptions; I can think of one Labradoodle, a 5 or 6 year old female, who is calm, cooperative and obedient. This family owns two other 'doodles, and those two are nutty as fruitcakes.

On the plus side, I haven't yet met a mean one.

There was a black Labradoodle in our obedience class and that dog was so weird. She really stood out from the other dogs because her behavior was just different. She was stubborn and showed that she had no interest in doing what was asked of her and her body language consistently showed she wanted nothing to do with the class. She would walk around with her tail all tucked up underneath her and of course we couldn't see her face because of all the fluff. She was also very, very slow to react and even though you got the idea that she knew what to do, she just wouldn't out of stubbornness.

I didn't like those doodle dogs before and she certainly didn't change my opinion.

Think about the quality of the dogs being thrown together to make "doodles" and you have your answer. Well bred poodles and labs/goldens are not being used. Any BYB dog is likely to have a wide nutter streak running through it.

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